


Gumdrops on Houses and Sprinkles on Biscuits

by goodboylupin (somebetterwords)



Series: A String of Christmas Lights [4]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Baby Harry, Baking, Christmas, Christmas Cookies, Christmas Fluff, M/M, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin Raise Harry Potter, Spice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:34:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28017792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/somebetterwords/pseuds/goodboylupin
Summary: The boys break ground on their first annual gingerbread village, carrying on a Potter family tradition.There is disagreement about the building materials.
Relationships: Sirius Black & Remus Lupin & Harry Potter, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Series: A String of Christmas Lights [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2047778
Comments: 10
Kudos: 91





	Gumdrops on Houses and Sprinkles on Biscuits

**Author's Note:**

> For [pixelated's Holiday Prompt List](https://remus-john-lupin.tumblr.com/post/634951075596828672/its-come-to-my-attention-that-i-have-fireplace)
> 
> Once again beta'ed by [Miri](https://swottypotter.tumblr.com/)

“What do you think, Harry?” Sirius asked the two-year-old perched on the countertop beside the mixing bowl. “Doesn’t it already look so yummy?”

Dipping his head down to look more closely, Harry peered into the bowl. Too quickly for Sirius to intercept, Harry dunked his little hand into the fluffy mixture of creamed butter and spices, then stuck his entire fist in his mouth.

At least they hadn’t put the eggs in yet. Remus would never let him hear the end of it if Harry caught salmonella.

Harry pulled the hand out of his mouth with a muted pop and let out a considering hum. “Mo’ spicy,” he declared, then gave a decisive nod as if agreeing with his own choice.

Sirius bit his lip. He’d added spices according to the rather mild recipe he’d found in Remus’s grandmother’s recipe card library, thinking that it would be more baby-friendly. But if the baby himself was _also_ of the opinion that the Lupin family gingerbread was too bland, then there was nothing to do for it but to use Euphemia’s recipe instead. “You sure, my little bud?” Sirius double-checked, even as he dug his teaspoon into the little tub of chilli powder that sat nestled in his countertop spice box.

“Mo’ spicy!” Harry demanded, slapping the countertop as if to punctuate how strongly he felt about it.

“Well, all right then!” Sirius whooped. “Let’s rock and roll!”

❅~❅~❅

“Honey, I’m home!” Remus sang as he shouldered open the front door — ironically, he would insist, if anyone asked.

“Moo!” Harry shrieked, as if it had been weeks since he’d seen his Moony last, rather than the few hours it had been.

“Harry!” Remus called back, shoving his paper grocery bags onto the hallway table to make room in his arms for Harry. Remus hefted the boy up onto his hip and cuddled him close, resting his cheek on downy, perpetually mussed hair. “I missed you! What have you been up to today?”

“Come see, come see!” Harry wriggled until Remus let him back down and led him by the hand to the formal dining table.

“Oh, my,” Remus murmured, coming upon what a little construction paper placard labelled _The Jewelled Palace_.

“I let Harry have full artistic direction,” Sirius informed him, winding an arm around Moony’s waist and dropping a kiss to his temple in greeting.

Remus leaned into his side and continued staring at the massive gingerbread house with multiple chimneys — _spires_ , Padfoot would later correct — every square inch of which was covered in a riotous rainbow of gumdrops in all manner of sizes. “How is it even standing under all that weight?”

“Magic,” Sirius answered simply, wiggling his fingers as if he were sprinkling fairy dust.

“And I don’t remember there being turquoise gumdrops in _any_ of the bags.”

“We Transfigured some of the yellow ones. Harry had a very specific vision, you see.”

“Transfiguring food, Mr. Padfoot? Gamp would not approve.”

“Did _Gamp_ become an Animagus at sixteen? No, he just wrote some essays and hypotheses.” Sirius kissed him again, this time on the lips. “Relax, Mr. Moony. I’ve got you.”

Harry, who had been running around the long table so that he could climb up to stand on the chair behind the house, now splayed his arms out at his sides and did jazz hands. “Ta da!” He exclaimed.

“Absolutely beautiful, Harry,” Remus praised, clapping politely. “You’re so creative, Honey Bunny!”

“Thank you,” Harry beamed. “Ea'now?” He asked, already reaching to pluck a jumbo turquoise gum drop from the top of the tallest spire.

“Oop!” Sirius reached over the table to gently clasp his wrist, pulling it away. “We have a separate gingerbread family for us to eat _together_ , remember Har’ Bear?”

“Gummy dop?”

“Yes, of _course_! With tiny, sparkly, delicious gumdrop buttons.”

“Kay,” he agreed easily, hopping off the dining room chair and sprinting to the kitchen.

❅~❅~❅

“Aww,” Remus cooed at the plate of gingerbread men. Sirius had used three sizes of cookie cutter, the largest man decorated with long strings of royal icing hair, the medium man with thin streaks of sanding sugar along its body to look like scars, and the smallest with a single sugar scar on its forehead and a shock of chocolate sprinkles haphazardly thrown on to look like Harry’s hair.

“I’m creative, too,” Sirius teased, summoning three smaller plates. He handed each cookie to its corresponding person and sat back. “Dig in!”

Sirius bit the head of his cookie directly off and hummed happily, savouring the interplay of sweet and spicy. He had perhaps been a little heavy handed with the cinnamon, but the sensation was still wholly pleasant.

Remus, meanwhile snapped off a leg and gave it a single nibble before placing it back down. He got up and went to the fridge, taking out the milk bottle and pouring himself a tall glass and taking a small sip. “That is _not_ my grandmother’s recipe, Sirius Orion Black,” Remus said, accusatory, as he leaned a hip against the fridge. “That is pure Mrs. Potter!”

Sirius threw up his hands in defence. “Harry wanted more spice like his forebears! Isn’t that right, Har’ Bear?”

“Mo’ spicy!” Harry trilled.

“Not my fault you have lower spice tolerance than a literal _baby_ , Moonbeam.”

“Spicy, spicy, spicy,” Harry chanted to himself, as he finished the last of his gumdrop buttons. He took a bite of his cookie and chewed slowly.

He then began tearing up.

“Harry?” Sirius ventured.

Harry began panting, tan cheeks faintly flushed. He stared plaintively at Padfoot. “Help,” he said simply.

“Ah, fuck,” Sirius muttered. He lifted Harry out of his high chair and hustled over to the fridge, snatching Moony’s glass and bringing it to Harry’s lips.

“Less tolerance than a baby, my arse,” Remus whispered as he took over holding the glass so Sirius could support the boy’s legs.

❅~❅~❅

“So what did we learn today?” Remus asked as he repeatedly dunked his gingerbread leg in a fresh glass of milk.

“That sometimes when a baby says ‘more spicy,’ it’s only because he’s mimicking his godfather.”

“And?”

“And just because a baby _asks_ for more spicy, does not mean I should indulge the baby, because the baby does not necessarily know what’s best for him.”

“And?”

“And we will change recipes for the rest of the village, and I'm going to have to eat The Jewelled Palace alone.”

They both turned to glance at Harry, no longer red faced, and kicking his feet happily as he suckled on a jumbo turquoise gum drop.

“I think Harry can help you eat the jewels,” Remus offered.

**Author's Note:**

> Sirius started off making [Martha Stewart's recipe](https://www.marthastewart.com/315628/gingerbread-snowflakes) — which IMO is not bland! — and took the first opportunity to pump the spice levels up to [this one,](https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchen/the-spiciest-gingerbread-cookies-ever-3561329) subbing cayenne out for chilli powder, (doubled to match batch size)
> 
> Rebloggable on [Tumblr](https://goodboylupin.tumblr.com/post/637247408211902464/gumdrops-on-houses-and-sprinkles-on-biscuits)


End file.
